June 2009

Jana and Juno, the Auckland Zoo's resident otter couple, spent a year in courtship before they decided they liked one another. Asian small-clawed otters mate for life but are "notoriously fussy" about who that mate will be. Well a few weeks ago Jana gave birth to two fluffy male pups, weighing just 400-500 grams or just about a pound.

Baby otter does not look pleased

I will trade you anything for your handful of otter

"Otters don't develop their waterproof coats until three months, so for
now with their big strong heads on top of their little uncoordinated
bodies and their soft furry coats, they're incredibly cute - rather
like cuddly little baby bull dogs." explained Auckland Zoo otter team leader, Amy Dixon. These little pups are the first Asian small-clawed otters born at an Australasian zoo in six years.

This baby Cape porcupine was born eight weeks ago at the Naples Zoo weighing just 1 lb, but since then the prickly critter has grown to seven times her birth weight! Like all porcupines, at birth the little girl's quills were soft like hair but began to harden almost immediately.

10 week old Gillin, the orphan baby cougar rescued from the wilds of Oregon, is adjusting well to her new life at the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo. Many zoo animals that are solitary in the wild benefit from having friends and hobbies in a captive situation. Gillin will be introduced to the NEW Zoo's adult cougar B.B. when she is a bit older.

Like most rambunctious babies, she loves to wrestle. In order for her to learn appropriate social behavior, she has been provided with a playmate. Treva is an energetic 2 year old Welsh terrier who belongs to Curator Carmen Murach.

Two fluffy Canadian Lynx kittens were welcomed at the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo last week as part of the AZA's Population Management Plan for the species which called for additional genetic diversity in the zoo population. Lucky visitors to the NEW Zoo can see the kittens between noon and 3pm daily through a viewing window at the animal hospital. For those of you not in the area, enjoy the video at the bottom.

The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans welcomed an endangered Sumatran Orangutan, Menari, on June 10th. These photos taken last week give us a sneak peek of the baby in advance of his public debut. Native and endemic to Sumatra, Sumatran Orangutans are smaller and in fact more rare than Bornean Orangutans.

Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands is a unique institution where monkeys, apes and other primates are free to wander within the park forming their own natural social groups. All of the pictures below were taken last week by photographer Jean Kern. Just like their fellow primates, humans, mom and baby stick close together.

Born at the end of March, these two little lion cubs are finally ready for public adoration at Oklahoma's Tulsa Zoo. The two cubs were delivered by C-Section and unfortunately their mother, Shatari, did not let them nurse when they were born, so keepers have been functioning as surrogate lion moms for the last few months. The first photo and video are from April, while the additional photos are more recent.